


Miraculous Online

by Snugglebuttkitten



Category: Miraculous Ladybug, Sword Art Online
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Character Death, Crossover, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Major Character Undeath, depictions of violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 02:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16864102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snugglebuttkitten/pseuds/Snugglebuttkitten
Summary: For two years, Marinette Dupain-Cheng has been trapped along with thousands of others in the game of death known as Miraculous Online. In the game, she is known as Ladybug, leader of the Miraculous Guild and one of the strongest players in game. For two years, Marinette has wanted nothing more than to beat the game and get back home to her parents, so when she gets a chance to take on the final boss in a one on one battle, she doesn't hesitate to take that chance. Unfortunately, her choice may have dire consequences.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is heavily inspired by episodes 13 and 14 of Sword Art Online. It is one of my favorite animes and I was rewatching this clip of the battle between Kirito and Heathcliff and I was so heavily inspired, that this was born. Now, I would like to point out that I have seen other people try and tackle this crossover and I don't know it just never sits right with me. I'm just left feeling unsatisfied by the end of it. That being said, this might end up the same. It will be a hard crossover to tackle and I don't yet know if I am going to make this a full story. I am still deciding between a) leaving it as a two-shot, b) making it a series of one/two-shots depicting various scenes from SAO, or c) writing a full, cohesive story set within this crossover world. Let me know in the comment section which you guys would like.
> 
> Now, before we start I do want to make a quick note of one thing. This is a full crossover story so there ARE elements from BOTH animes. I'm not just shoving the characters into another world; I'm going to do my best to combine those worlds to the best of my ability. Because of this, Miraculous Online will be a Fantasy MMO where the characters can obtain both physical and magical skills. For the sake of this story, her main weapon will be a sword and her Yoyo will actually be a shield. If I write a full story, I will go more into detail on the world, develop it further, but that's neither here nor there right now. For now, enjoy the story and let me know what you think!

Marinette sighed blissfully as she leaned against the wooden railing of the wraparound porch, her eyes sliding shut as a light breeze ruffled her loose raven locks. A feeling of peace and serenity filled her as the warm sun beat down from overhead. It was nice, getting away from the front lines for once. For the first time in who knew how long, Marinette wasn’t having to worry about where the next attack would come from. In this small village, surrounded by mountains and forests, she only had to worry about what new adventure she and her new husband would go on that day. She was thinking about perhaps exploring the forests more thoroughly; she could pack a picnic lunch and they could make a day of it. The thought made her smile; Adrien loved her cooking more than anything.

As if summoned by her thoughts, strong tanned arms wrapped around her from behind and Marinette allowed herself to melt back into her husband’s embrace with a contented sigh. She would never get used to this, used to them and the way they were now. Back when they were just Ladybug and Chat Noir, before they had revealed their identities after Copy Cat had nearly killed Chat, Marinette hadn’t thought their relationship could get any stronger than it already was. Chat Noir had been her partner since the beginning of the game. He was the first person she had met in game, the first person she had trusted enough to form a party with. He was the man she had agreed to co-lead a guild with, her most trusted ally. Now that their identities were revealed, now that they were married, their bond was stronger than she had ever imagined possible. Just his touch was enough to strengthen and bolster her.

“What do you want to do today?” Adrien’s voice was deep and rough from sleep; he had just woken up after all. The deeper timbre made his voice sound ridiculously sexy and it was all she could do not to kiss him senseless right then and there. Instead, she leaned back more firmly into his chest with a contented hum.

“I was thinking of packing a picnic lunch; we can go explore the forests more, or go down to the lake… maybe revisit the spot we found Emma,” she said, wincing at the pang of sadness that still managed to pierce her heart at the mention of the child they had found and lost not too long ago. Emma was an AI, a part of the game that had somehow taken on a physical form and lost all of her memories. Apparently, her job had been to monitor the characters, specifically those who committed suicide, and it had gotten to her. Seeing the love between Marinette and Adrien, however, had given her hope and somehow that hope had been enough to break free of her confines and adopt a physical form of a raven-haired, green-eyed six-year-old girl. She had started calling Marinette and Adrien by  _ Maman _ and  _ Papa  _ and before long, the three had considered themselves a family. 

Having Emma around, it made Marinette think of a future where she was no longer trapped within this death game. A future where she and Adrien beat the game and made it out alive; where they kept their promise of meeting up IRL and got married for real. A future where they had three kids, their own little house, a cat and a hamster. It was silly to dream, especially when the goal still seemed so damn unreachable, but she couldn’t help it. Adrien and Emma had made her hope, and she still missed the little girl dreadfully. Emma had sacrificed her freedom to protect her adoptive parents from an extremely powerful dungeon monster, and it was only Adrien’s quick thinking that had allowed him to hack the system and turn her into an item before she was deleted permanently. That’s how she had gotten the necklace around her neck. The item was called ‘Emma’s heart’ and it was the only thing keeping Marinette from breaking down completely at the loss of her adoptive daughter.

“Hey,” Adrien’s arms tightened around her as his chin dropped down on her head, perhaps sensing the direction her thoughts were headed. “Someday, somehow, we’ll get Emma back again. I promise,” he murmured, his lips pressing against the crown of her head. Marinette felt herself relax back against her husband, the tension leaving her in a flood.

“You’re right,” she murmured, willing herself to believe that, to believe in him. So far, Adrien had never steered her wrong and he had certainly never lied to her. If he said that they would find Emma again someday, then she knew he meant it with every fiber of his being. She opened her mouth to say more but stopped when a beeping sound filled her ears. It was the sound of an incoming message and she quickly separated from Adrien to check who was messaging her. Her shoulders drooped as she noted it was from the guild known as Akuma. Akuma was the strongest and largest guild, run by a man named Hawkmoth. Hawkmoth knew that she and Adrien were on their honeymoon, which meant that if he was messaging her, it must be important. 

“Hawkmoth is calling a meeting; they found the boss room on the 75th floor,” Adrien said, raking a frustrated hand through his blonde locks. Marinette sighed but then plastered a sunny smile on her face.

“Hey, we’ll come back. This is our home, Adrien. We’ll take care of this boss and then maybe we can invite the rest of the Guild back here. Rena, Queenie, and Carapace could probably use a vacation too, you know,” she said gently, moving closer to wrap her arms around her husband’s neck. Smiling, Adrien’s arms came up and around her waist and his head dropped to nuzzle his face into her neck. Even after knowing each other for two or so years and being married for over a month, his touch still sent a thrill down her spine and made her breath hitch unevenly. Dropping one hand from his neck, she couldn’t help but guide the blond’s lips to hers, kissing him fiercely and deeply before drawing back and pulling out a teleport crystal.

“Let’s go kick some monster butt,” she said with a gentle grin. Returning her grin tenfold, Adrien pulled out his own crystal and together they transported to Akuma Headquarters.

  
  


 

**November 7th, 2024 Floor 55, Akuma Headquarters**

“The Recon Team was wiped out?” Chat Noir’s voice rang out incredulously through the meeting room as he stared at the man who called himself Hawkmoth. One of the many quirks of Miraculous Online is that when joining up, everyone was given a ‘Miraculous Gem’ that would obscure their identity. The gems were usually only used in battles and enhanced a player’s abilities, but most people kept their ‘civilian’ identities hidden from other players. Whether it was for the added mystery or some other underlying reason, people typically only revealed their identities to those they were closest to. Well, unless you were Chloe Bourgeois, aka Queen Bee. She had announced very publicly who she was from day one. 

On the first day of the game’s launch, the gems were distributed randomly when the players made their avatars and each Miraculous was based off a different animal. Adrien and Marinette represented the Black Cat of Destruction and the Ladybug of Creation respectively, two of the strongest Miracle Gems in existence. The gems were two halves of a whole, which is what originally drew Marinette and Adrien together. They were  _ meant _ to be partners. Hawkmoth possessed the Butterfly Miraculous, which gave him the ability to boost other’s abilities and turn them into his faithful followers. The other members of Adrien and Marinette’s guild held the Fox, the Turtle, and the Bee, all of them powerful gems in their own right. Each power was different, but their powers also complimented each other which is what made their guild so powerful despite its small size. The Akuma Guild was stronger only because it was much larger.

Hawkmoth sat at the head of the table in his usual outfit, a deep purple suit with a gray mask that covered his whole head and face, aside from his mouth. His violet-blue eyes were grim as he regarded the other people in the meeting room, long fingers tapping lightly against the purple gem that tipped his Miraculous provided weapon, a cane that doubled as a sword. At Chat Noir’s words, his gaze swept towards the black leather-clad male and gave a short nod of agreement.

“They were scouting for the upcoming boss fight. It was a party of twenty members, taken from five different guilds. Ten of them reached the center of the room; then the boss appeared. That’s when the entrance closed, cutting them off from the rest of the party-” Hawkmoth explained, his tone of voice cold and stiff. That was how he usually spoke though and at this point, it barely fazed the others in the room. Chat Noir and Ladybug shared a look, each of them recalling times in the past two years where they had lost people close to them in similar room traps. It made them both shiver and instinctively their hands found one another beneath the table, fingers entwining in a silent show of support.

“They walked into an anti-crystal zone,” Chat Noir surmised, green catlike eyes narrowing as the leather ears atop his head flattened against unruly blond locks.

“Precisely. And it couldn’t have been more than five minutes or so when the door finally opened. The room was empty. There wasn’t any trace left of the ten soldiers  _ or _ the boss.” Hawkmoth agreed. Chat Noir’s eyes widened in disbelief and Ladybug’s eyes widened, a soft gasp escaping her.

“You’re kidding,” Chat breathed, barely able to believe something like that could just happen, after all this time.

“Now more than ever, clearing the game should be everyone’s number one priority. We’re going to launch an attack with the largest group we can assemble,” the man in the gray mask explained, his eyes leaving Chat’s to sweep over the rest of the men and women gathered in the room.

“You can count on us to fight with you,” Chat Noir said, determination lacing his tone. “But, this needs to be clear. Ladybug’s safety is my priority. If things go south in there, I’m going to protect her. That’s non-negotiable,” he growled, his gaze hardening like flint as he raked his own gaze over the assembled group. He could feel his wife’s gaze on his face, but he carefully avoided her gaze. He knew how she felt about him throwing herself in front of her, but that didn’t mean he would stop anytime soon. The Black Cat always protected his Ladybug. It was a deeply ingrained instinct, as natural as breathing.

“A person with something to protect is a strong ally to have,” Hawkmoth said, and there was a rare glimpse of respect in his gaze before it vanished once more behind a mask of cold indifference. “I’m expecting a good fight from you.”   
  


 

 

“Three more hours of waiting,” Ladybug breathed, leaning back on her hands as her perched on the edge of the council table in the meeting room. The room was vacant now, the only two people remaining being Ladybug and Chat Noir. The man in question was leaning back against the wall in the small room, arms crossed and face etched into a permanent scowl. “What should we do?” She glanced over her shoulder at her husband, wishing not for the first time since returning to Akuma HQ that they were back home in their cabin, where they could safely do away with their masks. She would give anything to be able to see her husband’s face beneath that silly black leather mask right now.

“What’s wrong with you?” She asked with a soft smile when her partner’s silence stretched on between them. One of the first things that had drawn her to Chat Noir when they first met was his outgoing personality. Chat Noir was loud, bold, goofy. He cracked jokes at the worst of times and had a grin ready for just about any occasion. Now, his eyes were downcast and his lips were pulled down at the corners. It wasn’t a look she liked seeing on his face.

“There’s something I have to ask you,” Chat finally said, turning his face away as if in shame. Now, Ladybug was really worried. This wasn't the same boy she had fallen in love with. This was a darker, heavier version of him and it worried that he was carrying such a burden around with him that it would affect him so much. “I just don’t want you getting mad at me.”

Ladybug waited patiently, her eyes never leaving his face. She knew he would continue when he was ready and that’s just what he did, although his gaze continued to resolutely avoid looking directly at her. “Instead of going to the boss fight, could you please stay here?”

It was Ladybug’s turn to shift her gaze away from her partner, but even without facing him she kept her emotions carefully masked as she responded. “Why would you ask that?” Her voice was deceptively soft as she spoke.

“We won’t be able to use teleport crystals, so there’s no telling what could happen,” Chat explained, and there was the slightest waver in his voice as he admitted, “I’m scared. If anything happened to you, I-”

Ladybug didn’t give him a chance to finish, her voice cutting through his like the crack of a whip, even though she kept her tone low and even. “So you wanna go to someplace dangerous, alone, and you expect me to stay here where it’s safe?”

Her footsteps seemed to echo way too loudly in the empty room as she slid off the table and crossed the space between them, coming to a halt with mere inches between them. “You know what would happen if you didn’t come back? Huh? I’d kill myself,” her voice cracked with conviction as she glared down at her husband, her partner, and tried to will the angry, hurt tears away. Chat’s green eyes widened, a look of horror in their viridian depths, but her expression didn’t soften in the slightest. He needed to hear this, hear what his death would do to her. Chat Noir claimed he couldn’t live without her, but he seemed to fail to see that the same could be said for her. She couldn’t go on living if Chat Noir was no longer part of this game. 

“I’d never forgive myself for staying behind, so what would be the point in living?”

Chat Noir whimpered, his eyes squeezing shut as a fine tremor began to run through his body. “I’m sorry,” he chokes out, knowing it had been wrong of him to ask that of her. “I guess I’m just losing my nerve. All I want to do is run away with you.”

Finally lifting his gaze, Chat gripped his wife’s forearms and his gaze seemed to drill into hers. They say the eyes are the window to the soul and if that’s true, he was looking into the very depths of hers at that moment. “I don’t care if we make it back to the real world. I just want to live with you, in our little house in the woods.”

Ladybug closed her eyes and bowed her head, apart of her wanting that as well. But then she thought of her mother, her father, her aunt… all her friends in the real world that were probably praying day in and day out that she made it out alive. And then she thought of the promise Adrien had made to her. He had promised they would find each other in the real world once this death game was over, that they would get married for real. As much as she loved this life she had carved out with him here, in Miraculous Online, she loved the idea of a real future with him even more. 

“It’d be nice if we could do that,” she agreed with a soft sigh, leaning further into him and drawing comfort from his warm touch. “Be together, every day. Forever. Have you ever thought about what’s happening in the real world? About what’s happening to our bodies while we’re in here?” She asked, her blue eyes reopening to meet his gaze.

“What do you mean?” Chat asked, frowning.

“A few weeks after the game was launched, do you remember what happened? Most of the players suddenly went offline and stayed that way for a few hours. My guess is, that’s when all the player's bodies were being moved to hospitals in the real world. If that’s where we all are right now, in hospitals barely being kept alive by machines, it’s hard to believe we’re gonna survive like that for much longer,” she explained. Chat’s eyes widened as understanding dawned.

“So that means, it doesn’t matter whether we clear the game or not anymore. Everyone here is on a time-limit. And once that’s up…” he trailed off as Ladybug made a distraught noise in the back of her throat and pressed her body fully into his, finally allowing the tears to escape. Her eyes burned as they tracked down her cheeks and dripped off her chin, disappearing in a puff of sparkles before they ever hit the ground.

“I want to… to stay with you,” she choked out on a sob, burying her face into her husband’s chest as his arms came to rest around her. “Forever. I want us to go on real dates, and to really get married. And for us to grow old together,” she sniffled. “That’s why… that’s why…”

“We don’t have a choice,” Chat Noir finished softly, his arms tightening almost imperceptibly around his wife. “We have to keep fighting.”

  
  
  


**Floor 75: Mystique Teleport Gate Plaza**

Ladybug and Chat Noir’s expressions were grim as they arrived at the teleport station on floor 75. From there, they would head to the boss room with the rest of the raid party. Most of the others were already there, each costume showing which animal the holder represented. Ladybug could recognize a few of the members from past boss raids; there was Chat D’or, who represented a Golden Lynx, along with her partner Loup Noir, the black wolf, talking on the other side of the plaza. Corbeau, the Raven, leaned against an outcropping of rocks, alone as usual as he polished his crossbow. Standing in a loose semicircle near the center of the crowd, the other members of the Miraculous Guild looked unusually subdued when the couple materialized on the teleport platform.

“Ladybug, Chat!” Rena Rogue, the holder of the Fox Gem, was the first to spot them and her auburn ponytail bounced as she bounded over to throw her arms around the smaller girl in red and black spots. “I wish it were under better circumstances, but it’s good to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you too, Rena,” Ladybug returned, squeezing her friend tightly in return before releasing her and turning to face the other two members of their guild. Carapace, the holder of the Turtle, bumped fists with Chat Noir in greeting while Queen Bee rolled her eyes and muttered what the others assumed was some form of greeting. She wasn’t the sentimental type but they loved her anyway.

The group of five glanced around, well aware that the eyes of the other party members were on them. The Miraculous Guild was one of the strongest guilds, despite their size, but that wasn’t solely due to the skill they had gained on the battlefield. Part of it was because they were lucky enough to hold some of the most powerful Miraculouses in the game. Undoubtedly, if you could take another player’s Miracle Gem, there would be plenty of characters gunning for their various powers. Thankfully, you couldn’t trade or steal the Miracle Gems within the game. Queen Bee rolled her eyes sharply at the other players and their apparent need to whisper and gossip behind their backs. It was a testament to her personal growth that she didn’t try to pick a fight with any of them because of it.

In any case, the whispers cut off abruptly with the arrival of Hawkmoth and his Akuma. While people couldn’t trade or steal the Miracle Gems, they could choose to not use them. Some people preferred to focus on physical skills rather than the magical boost given to them by the Miracle Gems, and then there was the Akuma. The Akuma were men and women handpicked by Hawkmoth to use his ability on. He could give people not under the influence of a Miraculous Gem powers of his choosing, and he could use his powers to power up multiple people at once, which made him a formidable opponent. The Akuma were men and women who preferred the power Hawkmoth could give them, compared to the power their Miracle Gems gave them. Hawkmoth and his Akuma made their way through the plaza, the crowd parting like the red sea until he stood before in the center of the large area. He lifted up one hand, and in it, he held a transport crystal that was much larger than the normal crystal that could transport one person at a time. This one would transport their whole group at once.

“Corridor, open,” he commanded in that coldly indifferent tone of his. The pale blue crystal lit up and as a portal began to form before them, the crystal dissolved into green sparkles. Hawkmoth glanced back with a grim smile on his face. “Well, here we go,” he said, beckoning the party to follow him as he stepped through the portal and disappeared. The Akuma, followed by the other players, followed one by one. When it was Ladybug and Chat’s turn, they shared a silent look that conveyed everything they were feeling in that moment. Fear, anticipation, dread, excitement, worry, and above all love. Of their own volition, their hands found one another and clasped tightly as they stepped into the portal as one.

  
  
  


The portal let them out directly in front of the boss room. Chat Noir and Ladybug took a moment to look around as the rest of the party joined them. The room was ginormous, a cavernous stone cave with pillars and beams protruding from the stone ceiling. The couple shared a dark look, both of them instinctively on edge.

“Feel that?” Ladybug murmured softly, cerulean gaze flicking to her partner. “There’s a bad vibe in here.”

“Yeah,” was the only verbal response she got from the man beside her, but the reassuring squeeze from his hand spoke legions. The other players were busy getting out their weapons, so with one last look, the couple released one another to do the same. Ladybug activated her player menu and scrolled through her inventory, upgrading her suit from it’s basic form of breathable spandex into a heavier, sturdier armor that was the same red and black spotted pattern. With the armor came her weapons of choice, a thin rapier built for speed and precision, and a sturdy red shield with five symmetrical black spots emblazoned on the surface.

Chat Noir, in the meantime, upgraded his black leather suit to armor as well. It was black, with a green paw print emblazoned over his left breastplate. His leather ears, belt tail, steel-toed boots, and the bell at his throat all remained the same. His weapons appeared as well, twin swords that were built with power in mind more than speed. They were thicker and heavier than Ladybug’s sword but they suited their wielder well. Chat Noir had unlocked the dual-wielding skill about nine months ago and it would serve him well in this fight. Nearby, the other members of their guild had also upgraded their suits to armor in preparation of the fight, while also revealing their own weapons. Queen Bee was a ranged player; she had a bow and arrows and used magical skills to enhance her arrows. Her special power involved paralysis and came in handy with smaller opponents, especially those typically light on their feet. Rena preferred to be in the heat of the fight, despite her powers of deception. She had a rapier, much like Ladybug’s, but no shield. It only weighed her down and the fox was supposed to be quick and light on her feet.

Carapace was a more defensive player. His power, Shield, was used to protect and defend his party members, and he tended to stay back from the fight and use spells to heal and enhance the skills of other players. He did have a shield which was powerful enough to be used as a weapon itself, and a sword, but he only used them when necessary. The other members of the party had a wide arrange of ranged and close combat weapons that would hopefully serve their purpose in helping to win the upcoming boss fight.

“Everyone ready?” Hawkmoth’s voice rang out from the head of the room, closest to the massive double doors that would lead them into the boss room. “My Akuma and I will be out in front, distracting the Boss and blocking its attacks. In the meantime, the rest of you have to stay sharp and try to figure out its attack patterns. I won’t lie, this battle will be hard. But I have faith that we can and will prevail. For our day of liberation!” Hawkmoth might be cold and emotionless most of the time, but he could be surprisingly passionate when he wanted to and his impassioned speech was more than enough to encourage and excite the gathered party members. With the end of his speech, a raucous cry went up that echoed and bounced off the walls of the room.

In the back of the room, Chat Noir watched Hawkmoth with narrowed eyes. His fists tightened and his teeth clenched, but in the next moment, he felt himself relaxing as his wife’s hand curled around his and her lips brushed the shell of his ear. “Everything is going to be fine,” she murmured quietly. “I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you. Promise. Make sure you protect me too, okay?”

Her smile was gentle and warm and so full of love that it seemed to light up their little corner of the room. It robbed the young man of his breath and he could only stare at her, starstruck for a moment, wondering how an unlucky cat like him had gotten so lucky as to win the heart of such a beautiful woman such as she. “Mari…” he murmured softly, too softly for anyone else to hear, before his own soft and loving smile curved his lips. “Yeah, you know I will.”

The sound of the door being pushed open drew their gazes away from each other and towards the boss room. Around the room, the other parties readied their weapons, unsure of what to expect from the 75th boss. Chat Noir drew his two swords, his eyes straight ahead even as he addressed his guild members. As they had done in every battle since forming their guild, they would stick close together throughout the fight and back one another up. It was part of the reason they often emerged victorious with only a few battle wounds to contend with.

“Don’t die, guys,” Chat Noir said, his tone deadly serious even as Rena chuckled softly beside him.

“Heh, same to you pussycat,” Rena scoffed with a sly grin.

“I’m going to make a fortune on today’s drops. No way am I missing out on that,” Queen Bee added with her own confident smirk. The doors opened fully, drawing the gazes of the small guild to the front of the room.

“Forward to battle!” Hawkmoth shouted, and with a cry, the crowd surged forward into the boss room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not as happy with this chapter but I am my biggest critic so I ain't even gonna worry about it. Enjoy!

The party spilled into the room, their war cry seeming to echo and bounce in the cavernous space. The room was dark and seemingly empty as the heavy double doors shut with an ominous clang. They wouldn’t reopen again until either the boss was defeated, or the party was wiped out completely. It was a horrible thought, and Ladybug found herself lingering at the back of the room with her husband at her side and their guild members forming a loose semi-circle around them. The bad vibe she had felt previously had increased ten, no, twentyfold. The air seemed to vibrate with the heavy sense of foreboding and yet… the room remained empty and silent save for the low murmur of confusion rising from the nervous party members. Their eyes bounced around continuously, those without night-vision straining to see in the oppressive darkness.

“Nothing’s happening,” Corbeau spoke up, his black armor and wings flashing as he strode closer to the center of the room, a grim look on his face. “Where is it?”

As the room fell into a hushed silence, a quiet rattling noise filled the air. The players in the room glanced around, instinctively backing towards one another in preparation of something jumping out of the shadows at them. The rattling continued; it sounded like bones clacking together or something equally horrendous, and the sound was getting steadily louder. From the back of the room, Chat Noir’s leather ears twitched as the sound continued, and his cat like green eyes shifted upward slowly, picking out what others could not in the thick shadows shrouding the room’s ceiling.

“Up there!” He warned, his sharp tone echoing in the large room. Everyone looked up as the rattling got louder and they balked. The boss was clinging to the ceiling, four glowing red eyes locked on its opponents below. It was shaped like a giant centipede, but it was made entirely of bones that shifted and rattled as it moved. With a screech, five health bars appeared near its head along with a name. Skull Reaper. The name couldn’t be more fitting.

“Stay away from it! Spread out,” Hawkmoth commanded the room. Most of the players did as he said, scattering in all directions as the Skull Reaper’s upper body dropped down, similar to the way a spider might drop down from its web. A few men remained in the center of the room, frozen in fear as they watched the monster close in.

“This way!” Chat Noir shouted at the men, beckoning them urgently to join him and the rest of the Miraculous Guild in their small corner of the room. “Hurry! Run!”

The men were finally jarred to life by his words and turned to flee, but by then it was too late. The Skull Reaper landed in the center of the room, a shockwave from the impact making the ground shudder. The men stumbled, their fear-filled gazes flashing back towards the creature just in time to see one of it’s razor sharp forearms sweep towards them. Skull Reaper’s forearm slammed into them violently and with enough force to sent the pair flying. Chat Noir and Ladybug reacted instantly, trying to catch the men before they hit the ground, but it was too late. Their health bars depleted before the two could touch them and in a explosion of light, the pair were snuffed out of existence forever.

“Th-that was one hit,” Rena breathed, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief. They hadn’t lost players that quickly in a boss fight since some of the earlier floors. 

“We are so dead,” Queen Bee agreed, her blue eyes wide with genuine fright for perhaps the first time since the five friends had known each other. Queenie was a master of hiding her emotions. If she was scared, she hid it well behind a mask of confidence but not even she could muster up any false bravado after such a raw show of power and strength. With another screech, the boss rushed the players and the group scattered. Only Hawkmoth stood firm, lifting his shield to deflect the Reaper’s attack when it would have taken out another player. Unfortunately in the next instant, the creature’s other forearm swept out and killed the Akuma Hawkmoth had been protecting, again in a single swipe.

“We can’t even get in close enough to hit the damn thing,” Queen Bee hissed, glancing towards Rena and Chat where they stood nearby. Chat Noir knew she was right, but he also knew he couldn’t stand idly by while this monster slaughtered them all. So, in the next instant he was in the middle of the fray, blocking another strike that would have undoubtedly killed yet another player. Damn if this thing wasn’t powerful, though. Chat Noir struggled to hold it back, leather ears flat and teeth gritted from exertion, but even with the both of his swords it seemed like a losing battle. And just when he was sure he would meet the same fate as the other men, his Lady was there with her own sword lending strength to his as Hawkmoth used his shield to deflect another attack. The combined force of the trio was thankfully enough to knock the Reaper back, giving them a nanosecond to regroup.

“If we block it together, we have a chance,” Ladybug said, her voice ringing out over the room as she stepped back and glared at their opponent. She helped her partner back to his feet with a determined look in her gaze. “Come on, we can do this.”

“Okay,” Chat Noir breathed, trusting his Lady implicitly. Her confidence made him believe that they actually had a shot at winning, made him believe that they weren’t all going to die in this death trap of a boss room. For her, he would move heaven and earth to make her words come true. With another shriek of defiance, the Skull Reaper attacked again and the strongest of the group leaped to engage it. The Skull Reaper was a formidable opponent. It possessed both raw power and speed, as well as wicked agility. The sound of swords clanging against bone filled the air as the Miraculous Guild and the Akuma began to engage the beast.

“Ladybug and I will deal with the sides; everyone else, flank it in attack,” Chat Noir called to the other places, working side by side with his wife to begin chipping away at their opponent’s five health bars.

“You heard the man,” Queen Bee said, bouncing back and drawing her bow. With an opponent this big, her Paralysis powers would barely slo it don but that didn’t mean her arros couldn’t do some damage. Likeise, Carapace joined her at the edge of the room and began chanting incantations that would bolster the defense of their teammates. Hopefully, it would be just enough to stop the beast from KOing anyone else in a single hit. The other close combat players rushed the Skull Reaper, weapons at the ready. But no matter how much headway they seemed to be making, this particular boss always seemed a step ahead. It’s long tail was like a barbed whip, it’s forearms like razor sharp blades. It’s head was perfect for smashing, it’s jaws made for crushing. Despite their skill set, despite their best efforts, people were still dying left and right and they were barely even making a dent in its health.

“Ready, Chaton?” Ladybug seemed to materialize at the male’s side, her gaze never losing that determined glint. The young man snapped his gaze away from the Reaper and gave a hard nod.

“Ready,” he confirmed. They briefly locked gazes, a million feelings conveyed in that single look, and then they were off, charging the beast and striking it with the full force of their weapons.

  
  
  


Ladybug sank down to her knees beside Chat Noir and leaned into him, eyes sliding closed as she struggled to even out her labored breathing. It as over. More than two hours of fighting and it was finally over. The battle had been the hardest any of them had ever faced before and it had taken its toll. All around the room, the party members sank to the ground one by one. They were relieved to have made it out alive, but at the same time the number they had lost was devastating. Fourteen players had lost their lives in the battle against Skull Reaper. They still had twenty five floors to go. At this rate, the front liners would all be wiped out long before they made it to the final floor.

“How the hell are we even supposed to make it twenty five more floors,” Queen Bee was the one to voice their worries but even her voice was subdued as she settled beside her boyfriend, Paon. He wrapped his arm around her and leaned his head against hers, blazing red locks mingling with honey blonde ones. 

“We’ll figure out a way… we don’t have any other choice,” Chat Noir said, trying to sound confident. He expected Ladybug to nod in agreement, back him up as she always did, but she was oddly silent and that drew his gaze to her. Her hair, once tied back in pigtails, had come loose during the battle. Seat coated her brow, breath puffing out of her slightly faster than normal, but her gaze was hard and focused as she stared across the room at Hawkmoth. Chat followed her gaze, then turned his gaze back towards his wife. “Ladybug?”

Ladybug didn’t so much as react to her name. Instead, her hand tightened on her rapier and she pushed herself to her feet and she eyeballed Hawkmoth’s health bar. He wasn’t paying attention to her, too busy surveying the other players in the room. Watching him, studying him, she couldn’t help but think of their duel a few months ago. His health had never dropped into the yellow; despite the battle they had just waged, it was still green. Most of the other players had been in the red by the time they took out the Reaper and they had immediately used heal potions to replenish their health. Hakmoth hadn’t touched a heal potion, so ho was he still green? It didn’t make any sense!

“Ladybug?” Chat repeated, worried now as he half turned to watch her along with their other guild members. “What’s wrong?”

Ladybug didn’t respond, instead pushing off suddenly and flying towards Hawkmoth. He turned, eyes wide, just as her sword skill activated. It was too late; he didn’t have time to dodge. But he didn’t have to, because some unseen force stopped her blade mere inches from his face and a purple icon popped up where the tip of her sword hovered.  _ Immortal object. _ Ladybug’s eyes widened, a gasp falling from her lips as she fell back.

“Ladybug! What are you-” Chat slowed to a stop a few feet away as he, too, noticed the ‘immortal object’ sign. A low murmur filled the room as everyone else began to turn towards them and take notice of this new oddity. “An immortal object? What- Commander Hawkmoth, w-what’s going on?”

“I think I have the answer to that,” Ladybug said, her expression stoic and barely concealing her anger. “The reason why the Commander’s HP never hits yellow, is because he’s protected by the system,” she explained, several quiet gasps meeting her words. She glanced around at the gathered party members before returning her gaze to Hawkmoth and continuing. “You know, ever since day one, something has always bugged me about this whole thing. I was always wondering, where is he hiding while he watches us and controls everything in this world. Well, the answer’s pretty simple. It’s basic psychology. In fact, it's so simple every kid knows it. There’s nothing more boring than watching  _ someone else _ play an RPG. Is there, Gabriel Agreste?”

Gasps rang out louder in the room and Ladybug’s bluebell gaze flicked immediately behind her to find her husband’s shocked gaze. It had been a shock, finding out that her partner was the son of this world’s creator, just as it had been a shock discovering that the man who had trapped them all in here had also carelessly trapped his own son and done nothing about it. Knowing that same man had been here with them the entire time, had watched his son almost be killed in numerous boss raids but had done nothing to stop it, to protect him… it had to hurt. A lot. She wanted to go to him, to wrap her arms around him and comfort him. But she couldn’t. Not yet. She needed to finish this confrontation first.

“Just for my curiosity's sake,” Hawkmoth finally broke his silence as he turned fully to face the young woman confronting him, “would you mind telling me how you figured it out?”

“The first time I knew something was up was during our duel. Remember when you turned the tables on me? That move was way too fast,” she explained with a shrug.

“I thought so,” Hawkmoth conceded. “It was a mistake to think that would go unnoticed by you, but you were so strong and so fast, the only choice I had was to engage the system’s assist mode,” he pointed out with a helpless shrug and a smug smile. Around them, more people tittered and gasped but Ladybug’s gaze remained firmly locked on the man before her, trying desperately to tamp down her rising anger. Hawkmoth glanced around at the men and woman staring at him with varying degrees of shock and disbelief and anger but still he didn’t look the slightest bit ashamed. If anything, he looked pleased with himself.

“Yes, I am Gabriel Agreste,” he finally confirmed with a smirk. “And now that my identity has been revealed, it should come as no surprise that I am the final boss on the top floor.”

Sound rippled through the cavernous room as everyone began speaking at once. Ladybug’s eyes flickered over the crowd, her gaze lingering longest on Chat Noir who had buckled to the ground and was now staring vacantly off into space. She couldn’t help it; the urge to go to him was too strong to resist. He didn’t speak when she crouched beside him, but when she laid a comforting hand on his back he immediately leaned into her embrace and buried his face into her neck. He was shaking and hyperventilating and she drew soothing circles around his back with her fingertips as she glared at Hawkmoth over his head.

“So the strongest player in the whole game ends up being the final boss? Kind of cliche, isn’t it?” Ladybug snarled, tightening her hold on her partner.

“Actually I kinda like that angle,” Hawkmoth lifted his shoulders in a ‘what can you do’ kind of shrug and his smile broadened. “One thing is for sure, I always you would be the one standing before me at the very end. You know, the Ladybug Earrings are a rare Miracle Gem. The rarest, actually. The kind only given to the player that shows the most promise. You got the farther than any other player in the Beta Test; it seemed fitting those earrings were given to you.”

Hawkmoth nodded thoughtfully and smirked. “The Ladybug is the Hero of this story, the one who rises up to challenge the demon king. With her ever faithful Black Cat beside her, she is unstoppable. But you, my dear Ladybug. The power you have displayed exceeded my expectations. I guess these unexpected twists and turns are what makes MMORPGs so thrilling to play.” Hawkmoth continued explaining with a bemused expression on his face. It wasn’t Ladybug who responded though, it was one of his Akuma, a young girl known as Stormy Weather.

“Our loyalty, our hope… how dare you… how dare you…  _ how dare you!? _ ” With an angry cry, the girl leaped into the air with her weapon at the ready, but Hawkmoth barely glanced at her. Casually, he activated his player menu and hit a button. Stormy’s eyes widened as her body seized and she fell to the ground, motionless. A little yellow mark appeared by her health gage with a lightning bolt in the center.

“Paralysis,” Ladybug breathed, eyes wide. Hawkmoth hit the button a few more times and one by one, the other players began to seize and collapse, completely paralyzed.

“Ladybug,” Chat Noir breathed his first word since the recent revelation about his father, before he too slid to the ground, paralyzed. Falling him to the ground, Ladybug kept her arms around her partner as she glared at her newest enemy.

“What’s the plan now, huh?” She sneered, blue eyes flashing with hatred. “You going to kill everyone here and cover it up or something?”

“Oh God, no,” the man shook his head in amusement. “That wouldn’t be sporting of me, would it? No, I have a better idea. I’m going to head to the top floor and wait for all of you there. I’ll be inside the Ruby Palace.It’s a shame I have to leave you all so soon. I spent lots of time developing the Akuma and other elite players. Oh well, you’re all strong so I’m sure you’ll reach me eventually. But before I go,” he turned suddenly with a smirk to gaze upon Ladybug. “Ladybug, I feel as if you deserve some sort of reward for discovering my identity, so I’ll give you a chance.”

“A chance for what?” She couldn’t help but ask, eyes narrowing.

“A chance to fight me one on one. Right here, right now. Oh, and I’ll deactivate my immortality. Defeat me and you clear the game, and all the players will be able to logout from this world. No strings attached. What do you say?” Hawkmoth offered with a grin.

Ladybug’s gaze widened, mind already racing as Chat Noir struggled to turn his head to face her against the resistance of the Paralysis. “Don’t do it, my Lady. I don’t like it. We should fall back,” he murmured. Ladybug wasn’t listening though. She was thinking over the past two years, of first finding out about being trapped in the game, to losing the members of her first guild. To all the countless people they had lost, and the people who still lived hoping for the day they could return to the real world. She thought about the people in that little village in the mountains, surrounded by forests and a lake. A breath shuddered through her and her eyes squeezed shut. Even still, the tears leaked freely; she was powerless to stop them now.

“I have to,” she finally whispered to Chat, before opening her eyes and looking up at Hawkmoth. “Okay then, let’s finish this.”

“Ladybug!” Chat tried to move but the Paralysis held him hostage as the girl gently laid him down with an apologetic look, brushing her lips over his before rising and stepping over his prone form.

“I’m sorry… I can’t run away if it means ending this,” she told her partner over her shoulder, not daring to look back less she lose her nerve.

“You better not die. You hear me?” Chat Noir responded, his voice sounding resigned now.

“No, I’m going to win,” she promised, knowing it was a promise that she might not be able to keep. She promised it anyway, hoping and praying she wouldn’t become one of the things she hated most of all. “I promise, I’ll end this world.”

“Okay. I believe in you,” Chat Noir said behind her, and she found herself squeezing her eyes shut against another onslaught of tears. He believed in her. Of course he did. He had always believed in her, even when she didn’t believe in herself. Stepping away from her husband, she drew her rapier and readied her shield.

“Ladybug, don’t!”

“Ladybug!” The voices of her guild members rang out, begging her not to take this route, but her mind had been made up. Still, she paused before reaching Hawkmoth.

“Queenie, thank you for supporting all the players in the game since day one. Yeah, I knew,” she turned to face the blonde girl where she lay beside her red-haired partner with a pained smile. She might not have gotten along with Queen Bee at first, but she couldn’t imagine not knowing her now.  “You act like you’re all about the money, but I know you spent almost every penny you had on helping the medium players level up.”

“Rena, Carapace, I’m sorry I bailed on you that day. I think about it all the time,” she said, turning to the other two members of her guild with a sad smile.

“Damn it, LB, don’t you apologize!” Rena sobbed, clenching her fists the best she could in her current state and turning her face away to hide her tears. “Don’t you dare apologize now. I won’t accept it. I’ll never accept it until we’re on the other side and you’re buying me dinner, Goddamnit,” she continued brokenly.

“You got it,” Ladybug promised with a soft smile.

“We never blamed you, dudette,” Carapace choked out behind his own tears. “You helped us in the best way you could at the time.”

“I’ll see you on the other side,” Ladybug said, nodding her silent thanks to Carapace before turning to face her opponent once more. She paused before her gaze reached him, eyes instead lingering on her partner. Her thoughts flashed back to a few hours earlier, to the words she had spoken to her partner, and with a determined look she finally faced Hawkmoth once more. “If it’s okay, I have a final request to make.”

“What is it?” The man seemed more amused than anything else but Ladybug didn’t care. As long as he did as she asked, she would take it.

“I’m not planning on going down easy, so if I die today I want your word that you’ll fix it so Chat Noir doesn’t kill himself,” she said grimly. Hawkmoth looked surprised, but with a smile he nodded his agreement.

“As you wish,” he said.

“No, Ladybug, that’s not fair! You can’t do that, it’s not fair!” Chat Noir snarled behind her, but Ladybug kept her gaze resolutely ahead as she readied her sword and shield. This was necessary, just in case she didn’t make it through this battle. Chat Noir’s voice continued to ring out in protest but as Hawkmoth changed his status to a mortal object, as he readied his own sword, her husband’s voice seemed to fade into mere white noise in the background. This wasn’t just some in game duel. This was a fight to the death between her and Gabriel Agreste, co-founder of Nerve Gear and Creator of Miraculous Online. That was fine with here, though, because she had every intention of killing him.

  
  
  


The clang of metal on metal as sword met sword rang out throughout the room. Hawkmoth was a powerful opponent; he was the creator of this game after all. He had designed all the skills she possessed, knew them better than even she did. That meant she needed to rely on her own abilities to win this fight. It was hard, though. With every swing of her sword, Hawkmoth’s was there to block and parry like it was effortless for him. Maybe it was. Hawkmoth could block whatever she threw at him, he knew all her combos. She had to beat him without using the sword skills when previously, the skills were what she relied most heavily on him. She needed to go faster. Always faster. No matter how fast she went, however, his shield always seemed to be there in her way. It was frustrating, and she knew that she was beginning to slip up in her anger. Her attacks and dodges were becoming slower, sloppier.

She hissed and fell back as one swipe of his sword broke through her defenses enough to cut her cheek. The pain was minimal, but it was like a cold bucket of water had been dumped on her head and she suddenly had to wonder… did she really have what it took to win this battle? With a snarl, she engaged one of her sword skills. She knew she had made a mistake the second she did so. Hawkmoth smirked and chuckled triumphantly, blocking her every move without batting an eye. She realized the moment she had lost, saw the opening she had left for him to seize upon and silently apologized to her friends, her partner, because at the end of the day she wasn’t good enough. She couldn’t save them from this game and now, she never would.

“Game over, Ladybug,” Hawkmoth scoffed, finally engaging his own sword skill and pushing forward into an attack. Ladybug braced for the attack to come and deplete her HP, but the blow never landed on her. A flash of black filled her vision and her eyes widened as the killing blow meant for her landed instead on her partner, her husband, her Kitty. She caught him as he fell back, her eyes filled with horror as she watched his HP gage deplete to zero. Chat turned to her with a weak smile as he began to glow.

“Ch-chaton,” Ladybug whispered, a quiet protest as she held the man in her arms tightly. “Chaton. Y-you can’t- you can’t be-”

“I’m sorry,” Chat whispered, turning his head to face her fully with tears running down his cheeks. “Goodbye, my Lady.”

Chat Noir’s eyes slid shut and moments later his body flickered and then burst into an array of blue, green and white sparkles that lit up the air around them. Ladybug gasped, reaching instinctively for the remnants of her husband as if she could physically put him back together if she just gathered up the last remaining lights. But one by one those lights snuffed out and she was left with empty hands and tear filled eyes. She collapsed to her hands and knees, her weight physically incapable of holding her any longer.

“Now that was a surprise,” Hawkmoth mused,  seeming unaffected by the death of his son. Did he know? Was he aware that he had just killed his only child and for what? Because of this deranged need to control a world of his own creating and the people within it? It was wrong, it was sadistic, it was… it was… “I’m sure I never programmed a way for players to neutralize their own paralysis. I guess sometimes these things just happen.”

Ladybug grit her teeth at his words. Just happen? Just happen? These things had all happened because Gabriel Agreste was a freak who had trapped a bunch of innocent people in a game of death. These things had happened because he had wanted to play God and now… now Chat Noir was dead. Now, Adrien Agreste was dead. Adrien was… he was… she would never see him again and it was all.  _ His _ . Fault. Her hand brushed against her husband’s sword where it had clattered to the ground when he disappeared. How odd that it hadn’t disappeared right along with him but that didn’t matter now. Her hand closed around the hilt and she staggered to his feet. Hawkmoth stopped chuckling in favor of watching to see what she would do now.

Taking a step forward, Ladybug swung the sword at her opponent. There was no force, no will behind the attack as she swung again, Hawkmoth needing only to step out of the way to avoid what would have been ineffectual blows anyway. What did she have to go on for anymore? Her Chaton was dead, and she wanted nothing more than to join him. When she attempted another strike, her opponent sighed as if she had disappointed him and whipped his own sword up, knocking hers out of her hand. It clattered somewhere behind her but she didn’t care anymore. She welcomed death as Hawkmoth’s blade cut into her, and her health gage began to deplete. It was over now; she could rejoin Chat Noir and everything would be as it should be.

_ I believe in you, Ladybug… _

The girl stiffened as Chat Noir’s words rang through her head as her HP bar finally hit zero. She fell back, her body bursting into sparkles… but then those sparkles turned gold and rushed together, forming her body once more. She wasn’t sure if she was a ghost or what, but she knew that anger was pulsing through her and that she wasn’t ready to die yet. She knew she wasn’t going out without first taking her bastard father-in-law with her.

“Not yet,” she growled, taking a step forward as Hawkmoth took a step back, eyes wide in disbelief. With a snarl, Ladybug launched herself at Hawkmoth and he could only smile as their swords ran each other through. The man’s health gage depleted to zero and he immediately burst into sparkles… just before the world dissolved around her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemme know what you think ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Comment below!


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